David Pierdomenico
Eli Roth first shocked his way into cinema back in 2002 with the grotesque and brilliant Cabin Fever. From there, he’s made a name for himself with brutal and graphic horror that landed him membership in the unofficial Hollywood “Splat Pack”. But in what seems to be a divergent move, his latest film The House with a Clock in Its Walls, is a family friendly magical adventure involving warlocks and starring Jack Black. Is Roth trying to turn over a new leaf, or is this the next natural step for his unique and varying career?
Making a Name For Himself
The 2000’s was the ideal time for a filmmaker like Roth to emerge. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of horror classics from the 1970’s. It had been a time of quite visceral horror films, most of which were inspired by graphic images of the Vietnam War that flooded television screens for the past decade. When Roth was starting his career with films like Cabin Fever and Hostel, horror audiences were once again demanding brutally graphic subject matter. Like the era that preceded it, real life events such as 9/11 and the War on Terror inspired this dark turn in entertainment. While on the surface, his early films may seem like mindless gorefests, there was always infused with subtext.
Some have argued that Cabin Fever was meant to be an allegory for STD’s, years before It Follows would tackle that subject in a much more overt manner. Additionally, Hostel II contains a scene completely devoid of gore that is perhaps the most disturbing thing Roth has ever put to film. As the main characters’ passports are uploaded to the internet, people place bids on getting to torture them. We see a wide array of people from businessmen in meetings, to golfers on the course, and even a grandfather enjoying an ice cream cone with his grandchild. He smiles lovingly, all the while bidding on his phone for the opportunity to commit unspeakable atrocities on some random innocent person. It serves to remind the audience that despite public appearances, many people hide incredibly dark secrets.
Doing Things His Way
After two Hostel films, Roth turned his sights towards an homage to Cannibal Holocaust that he has always wanted to do. It would become 2013’s The Green Inferno. The film itself received mediocre reviews, but the fact that he was willing to immerse himself (along with his cast and crew) in the jungles of Peru, without any modern luxuries, demonstrated his willingness to do anything. As well as his absolute devotion to his craft. Two years later, he was back on track with the tense thriller Knock Knock. Here, Roth showed his talents of showcasing the darker side of humanity, something ever present in his films.
Up until this point, he was still mainly known as an independent filmmaker, working with low budgets. But also maintaining creative control. He always preferred to shoot his films in a wider aspect ratio than normal, and to not use what he considers to be modern “MTV” editing tricks. His films never had fast cuts, or music video inspired aesthetics, primarily because he wanted his films to feel like those classics from the 1970’s. And as long as his films were lower budget and produced by him, he always had that freedom.
Trying to go Mainstream
There’s always a point where typically independent filmmakers are given large budgets and it can very easily go either way. It can end in disaster like Cop Out for Kevin Smith. Or it can brilliantly reinvent a franchise with Taika Waititi and Thor: Ragnarok. For Roth, the test would come with Warner Brothers singing him on to direct their big budget monster movie The Meg. However, he was fired from the project for “creative differences”, which sources say meant Roth wanted an “R” rating, as well as wanting to star in the film. And the studio wouldn’t have either of these conditions.
His big budget break would finally come in the form of 2018’s Death Wish. It was the largest production budget he had ever been given ($30 million), and in many ways was the least “Eli Roth” film he had ever made. He had to play it more mainstream and while it wasn’t a flop, it was far from the hit that MGM was hoping for. Part of that was caused by a controversy involving the film’s alleged pro-gun stance in the wake of school shootings, but let’s be honest, the film itself wouldn’t have been a hit in any other circumstances. It was quite clear that Roth was outside his element here, and it seemed almost like he was selling out.
“Gateway” Horror Film
In an impressive feat, Roth is poised to release his second film of 2018 this week. The House with a Clock in Its Walls will certainly prove to be unlike anything he’s done. But in a strange way in feels like the next natural progression for him. Roth has admitted that he’s at a point where several of his friends have children, and they have jokingly asked him when he’ll ever make a film they can bring their kids to.
Couple that with Amblin Entertainment and Steven Spielberg himself behind the project, and giving Roth creative freedom, and suddenly this new film seems like it has much more potential that we realized. Roth has stated in interviews that Spielberg asked him to not hold anything back and make the film as scary as possible, just without violence, gore, or profanity to maintain the “PG” rating. Roth claims that it will be the perfect “gateway” horror film; one to take your children to when they are still young, but that helps them develop an appreciation for the genre itself. Whereas Death Wish felt like Roth didn’t belong and he knew it, this new film feels very much like Roth’s whole heart is in it, as he prepares a brand new generation of youth to embrace the glorious genre that he adores so much.
